Posts Written OnOctober 16, 2006

Tasting Vintage Variation — A Flight of “Flight”

You can buy bottle after bottle of mass-produced, ubiquitous wines like Yellowtail Shiraz or Cavit Pinot Grigio without even looking at the year on the label. That’s because year-to-year variation is barely perceptible in those wines. Huge vineyards, huge production and blending options that lead to a “house style” all result in fairly consistent flavors year in and year out. That’s boring and lame if you ask me. That sort of cookie-cutter consistency is not the case here on Long Island, where even the largest vineyards are miniscule by world standards. And, with generally cool weather that changes considerably from…

Long Island Mid-Harvest Report

Last year’s grape harvest was remarkable both for the hot, dry conditions that lasted all summer long and the almost twenty inches of rain that was dumped on the East End over eight days right in the middle of harvest. White grapes were largely unaffected because they had already been picked, but many of the Island’s red grapes weren’t so lucky. That rain completely decimated some producers to the point where they didn’t make red wines last year at all. Others escaped mostly unscathed and have made some tremendous wines. There will be less 2005 red wine on shelves once…

Curry-Seared Scallop with Spiced Green Pea Puree

Tomorrow is my sister in-law Kim’s birthday. She, along with my in-laws, were here this weekend to help us paint the nursery so we did a little dinner Saturday night to celebrate. The last few dinner parties we’ve thrown, I’ve done something as an amuse bouche — for a couple reasons. First, by skipping this course myself, it allows me time to get organized and caught up in the kitchen for subsequent courses. And, as in the case of this scallop, it’s an easy way for me to cook some seafood for my guests…but I don’t have to eat it.…